Many tasks require coordination between multiple persons to accomplish. In addition, some tasks may require an immediate response by all appropriate response personnel. The task may require that responders arrive quickly to a designated location and be prepared for the task.
One task that typically requires a fast an accurate notification of a variety of personnel is an emergency situation. In an emergency situation, multiple types of emergency personnel may need to be notified and the notified personnel may need to receive all available information in order to properly assess and handle the situation. For example, in a gas line break situation, many persons may need to be notified, such as pipeline maintenance personnel. In addition, it may be necessary to inform fire personnel to be present in case of fire, and police may need to be informed in order to evacuate a surrounding area. In other scenarios, fewer personnel and fewer types of personnel may need to be informed. Alternatively, in some scenarios it may be of importance to determine which personnel are closest to the scene or event, so as to determine the appropriate personnel to be notified and to respond.
Notification systems exist that issue notifications to emergency personnel. However, providing notifications to personnel who are not needed can be counter-productive in some situations.